February 12th – May 18th
“My photography is very strongly based on music” – Johsel Namkung
One of the Northwest’s most accomplished photographers, Johsel Namkung incorporated his training as a classical musician to inspire a visually stunning body of work in color and b&w photography.
Born in Gwangju, Korea, Namkung was interested in the arts from an early age. Beginning in 1936, he studied at the Tokyo Conservator of Music winning the All-Japan Music contest in 1940 before joining his family in Shanghai later that year. In 1941, he married classical musician Mineko Suematsu and the couple became involved with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and after WWII with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra. In 1947, the Namkung’s moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. They had two daughters and with the necessity of financially supporting his family, he worked briefly for Northwest Orient Airlines as a language specialist. In 1956, Johsel apprenticed with Seattle photographer Chao-Chen Yang to learn the art of photography, particularly color processing. He pursued his photographic career in earnest, attending a workshop with Ansel Adams in 1958. He was able to support his family by working in a color processing lab in Seattle before working for the University of Washington’s pathology department as a medical photographer from 1961-1982.
Namkung befriended several important NW artists including John Matsudaira, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi and Mark Tobey who would sometimes accompany Johsel on piano.
In 1966, Johsel had his first solo exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery celebrating the publication “The Olympic Rain Forest” by Ruth Kirk which he illustrated. In 1978 he received a solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum. After Mineko’s death in 1999, Johsel married Monica Jung in 2002 who continues to carry on his legacy today.
Image Credit: Johsel Namkung (1919-2013), Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington, 1968. Collection of Monika Namkung.